


The Only Girl He Didn't Hate

by thatonelucky



Category: Betty Cooper - Fandom, Jetty - Fandom, Jughead Jones - Fandom, Riverdale - Fandom, betty x jughead - Fandom, bughead - Fandom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-04
Updated: 2017-12-04
Packaged: 2019-02-10 15:28:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12914778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatonelucky/pseuds/thatonelucky
Summary: Jughead’s woman hating tendencies have left Gladys feeling like he’s never going to grow up. As she starts to push harder and harder at him, he and his best friend, Betty Cooper, devise a plan to throw his mother off completely.





	The Only Girl He Didn't Hate

 

                Sometimes Jughead wondered why he still lived with his mother. His dad would never force this kind of attitude on him, he taught him to embrace how he felt. But what Gladys thought was right just had to be right. Like Jughead taking off his beanie every once in a while or getting a girlfriend.

                Girls weren’t Jughead’s strong suit; he was the woman hater of the nation. No woman would ever slip into his life and tear it apart. Girls were a waste of time and girls were too needy. Jughead was a self-identified loner; he doesn’t do well with clinginess and love. He never had a good representation of love growing up. Gladys and FP fought every day for years until they finally decided to divorce.

                The only girl that Jughead had ever bothered with was Betty Cooper. Not by choice, of course. Betty had somehow wormed her way into his life, always radiating sunshine in the darkest of days. Funnily enough, Betty was the exact opposite of what Jughead thought himself as. He was the darkness and the plague of sadness. Betty Cooper, however, was nowhere near it.

                Betty was the golden haired cheerleader that everyone fell in love with. She could light up an entire city with just one smile. Her preppy and peppy attitude was almost infectious. Almost being the key word. Jughead had to admit, he would often find himself naturally smiling around her, but more often than not, he kept his signature grimace. He had a reputation to uphold.

                Their friendship hadn’t started on the best of terms, that being completely Jughead’s fault. Being paired up for an English assignment and having one half of the pair do nothing at all was completely frustrating. It’s not that Jughead didn’t want to help; he just hated the idea behind the assignment so refused to do it. He almost got away with staying in that frame of mind until Betty showed up at his door, refusing to leave until he finished off what he had started.

                He should’ve felt mildly irritated by her presence, like he is with all company. However, Betty had a certain way about her that left Jughead confronted by his own emotions betraying him. He found himself wanting to spend more time with her, a feeling of warmth drawing him in. Betty didn’t complain; truthfully Jughead was the only person who saw her as more than just a pretty girl in a short skirt.

                That’s how their meetings became more frequent. Betty would go to Jughead’s house and either help him with his homework or help to babysit his baby sister, Jellybean. Jughead was never too big on people asking questions about his family. But watching Betty make Jellybean’s smile reach her eyes, he found himself telling her everything.

                Betty had confided in Jughead for the first time on Polly’s birthday. She hadn’t spoken to anyone about Polly, brushing off any comment as a rumour. Truth being that Polly had fell pregnant and run away with her high school sweetheart, Jason Blossom, without so much as a goodbye. Betty had told Jughead about her parents and how controlling they were. How it was driving her crazy.

                That’s how they became the talk of the school, the most unlikely duo coming together. Sitting together at lunch instead of at separate tables, moving seats in classes to be next to each other and even walking home from school together. Needless to say, everyone in Riverdale High was 100% sure that they were together.

                Gladys was absolutely besotted with Betty and rightly so. Betty would be at Jughead’s house almost every single day. She would force Jughead to help with the cleaning and very often she would join in herself. Gladys was sure she was an angel sent from heaven for Betty Cooper could not be real. Sometimes Jughead had that thought too.

                “You will not believe what my mother did this time!” Jughead came storming into the Blue and Gold offices, clearly vexed about something that had happened previous. Betty had been sat at her desk, typing up the final scores for the Bulldogs last away game for the paper. They hadn’t done as well as expected, which of course was a shame seeing as she knew how hard Archie and Reggie trained the team.

                “Let me guess, threw away your hidden tin of rare Pokémon cards.” Betty tried not to laugh at the ludicrous story he had told her last week. For a 17 year old boy, he was very invested in his Pokémon card collection. He scoffed at her remark, sending over a glare as he threw himself onto the couch. Clearly he wasn’t in the mood for jokes.

                “No, worse. Way worse. She tried to set me up on a play date with Ethel Muggs!” Jughead threw his head back in frustration. His mother had been trying to set him up for weeks now, demanding that he at least needs to give it a go before he declares his hatred of girls to the entire world.

                “To be fair, Jug, she’s only helping you explore your options before you write them off completely.” Betty defended Gladys, knowing her only intentions were to see her son happy. Betty had many secret conversations with Gladys whilst waiting for Jughead to get home from work. They often spoke about how they were both feeling; Jughead’s mother acted more like a mother to Betty than Alice did.

                “Why can’t she just accept that I hate every woman except from her, Jellybean and you?” Jughead groaned, propping his head up on the side of the couch and staring at Betty who was still typing away at her laptop. She’d had this conversation with Jughead all too many times. “What if I could get her off of my back some way?” Betty instantly stopped typing, knowing where this was going. Jughead’s teasing voice could only mean one thing.

                “Are you suggesting what I think you are?” Betty smirked slightly, amused by how desperate Jughead was acting just so that he could be alone forever. He stepped up from the couch and walked around behind Betty’s desk. Getting down on one knee, he dramatically inhaled.

                “Betty Cooper, will you make me the happiest man alive and be my fake girlfriend?” Jughead declared, speaking a little louder than he normally would’ve. Betty laughed out loud, falling back in her chair. She was at a loss here; she wouldn’t be able to let down her best friend. It didn’t have to be for too long anyways.

                “Jughead Jones, it would be an honour.” Betty too, spoke dramatically; an essence of innocence in the lining of this completely idiotic plan. Jughead gave Betty a quick wink before whipping out his phone and facetiming Gladys, who picked up on the 3rd ring.

                “Mom! She said yes!” Jughead exclaimed to his mother who Betty could hear was far too happy on the other line. She started to feel bad about this whole idea, giving Gladys false hope just so Jughead could go free. “Okay, see you at 7!” He swiftly ended the call, turning to Betty with a cocky smirk.

                “You asshole! This was all planned! You’re going to leave all the explaining to me?” Betty stood quickly and smacked her beanie wearing friend in the arm. He retaliated almost instantly, grabbing her arm before it could come in contact with his body. She would’ve been impressed if she wasn’t being crushed by the crippling worry of how Gladys was going to react if she messed up.

                Betty had come accustom to being at Jughead’s house more than her own, she didn’t want to lose that by upsetting Gladys. Gladys was special to Betty now, like a 2nd mother. Jughead knew this and understood how much Betty relied on his family. He also knew Betty too well to know how uncomfortable she was feeling.

                “Hey, Betts. Look I’ll call in sick if you really want me to but Pop is counting on me tonight.” Jughead crouched down, reaching Betty’s level and grabbed her hands. He stroked his thumb over the back of her knuckles, hoping to give her some form of comfort. The truth is, he only made sure he had work today just so he could avoid any awkward conversations.

                “It’s okay, she won’t expect us to do anything weird.” Betty attempted to calm herself down, knowing that there was no way it was going to happen. Gladys had spoken to Betty before about dating Jughead and truthfully she wasn’t against the idea. But she knew that Jughead had never looked at a girl in that way before. He seemed to like being single and that’s good for him. Betty was pretty sure he was aromantic but his mother wasn’t fond on that idea.

                That’s how Betty found herself sat on the Jones’s couch with a cup of hot chocolate and Gladys going on and on about how happy she was. Betty wanted to be happy knowing how excited Gladys was that Betty could be a legal part of the family one day. She’d always been considered a daughter to Gladys anyways but she’d expected to be having this conversation when the real day came. But it was never going to come.

                “I’m just so happy Betty darling; I always hoped that Jughead’s heart was set on you. You’re the most incredible young lady I’ve ever met.” Gladys stroked Betty’s hair, feeling a comfort with two out of three of her favourite people cuddled into her side. Jellybean on one side and Betty on the other.

                It wasn’t unusual for Betty to lean into Gladys’s side. Betty had found herself like that most nights when Jughead was working late. Whilst talking about what crazy meltdown her mother had that morning or what Cheryl decided to torment her with that day always left Betty so deflated. Gladys was especially good at cheering her up. This is why she could tell that Betty didn’t seem as excited as she was letting on.

                “I’m so sorry, Gladys.” Betty spoke quietly, a stray tear falling from her eye as she cuddled closer. Gladys continued stroking her hair, her heart breaking a little bit at the sadness laced in Betty’s voice.

                “I know, honey. You look very deflated today, is that why?” Gladys’s words cut deep in Betty’s heart and before she knew it she was doing what she always does, spilling her heart out for Gladys, who sat with open ears. Betty spoke about how she thought that this day would come once Jughead had decided he didn’t hate girls anymore or when she had the courage to tell Jughead how she really felt.

                “Betts, I don’t know what Jug did to deserve you.” Jellybean spoke quietly, her eyes fixed on the TV in front of her. Jellybean rarely intervened when Betty was upset as she had no idea what to say. She was only 11 at this point. She was too young to understand relationships and feelings but she knew Betty very well.

                “Thank you, Jelly. But I feel like it’s the other way around.” Betty deprecated, feeling a dull ache in her heart. Gladys was still silently stroking her hair, trying to find the words to justify her son’s actions. She had none.

                “I only pushed him so that maybe he’d realise what he had already.” Gladys pulled Betty a little closer. “You.” Betty perked up slightly at her words, pride running through her veins. Gladys had always approved of Betty being in Jughead’s life but she always wanted it to be more and she was sure that Jughead did too.

                A few weeks ago she had found some of Jughead’s writing and was so sure it was about Betty. He was explaining love but the blonde hair and the emerald eyes that he so deeply explained couldn’t have been anyone else. She wanted to tell Betty but her meddling hadn’t done any good so far and she likes having Betty around.

                Once Jughead had come home, he was welcomed by the warm sight of his 3 favourite girls cuddled up on the couch watching some cheesy romantic movie on Netflix. Betty looked happier than when he last saw her which he took as a good sign. Upon his arrival, Gladys had ushered herself and Jellybean out of the room and up the stairs into Jelly’s room. She gave Jughead a quick kiss on the cheek before she walked up the stairs, throwing Betty a quick wink.

                Gladys had told Betty to talk to Jughead about how she felt, adamant that he would rather find out from her than anyone else. Betty hadn’t expected Jughead to reappreciate the feelings that she had, so there was nothing she could lose. She knew he wouldn’t cut her off because of it; he wasn’t like that.

                “Jug, can I talk to you for a minute?” Betty stood up, wiping her palms nervously against her jeans. Suddenly, she felt like she was the size of an ant under Jughead’s intense and confused stare. He nodded his head and sat in the chair across from her.

                Jughead deemed this as the moment where Betty Cooper was officially going to realize that he isn’t good enough for her and cut him off. He’d been fearing it for a long while now, not trusting how smooth things were going for him right now.  The slight quiver in his body signalled for Betty to say something.

                “Are you dropping me?” Jughead spoke quietly, the evident crack in his voice showing just how insecure he was feeling in that moment. Betty wanted to be fast at responding but she didn’t know how. “Betts, please don’t leave me.” Betty risked a look at Jughead’s face only to see he already had a salty trail of tears lining his face.

                “Are you crazy? Juggie, that’s the very last thing I want to do.” Betty found a stroke of courage, reaching over his cradled body to wipe away some of the tears that were still leaking from his eyes. He was usually quick to catch her hand, attempting to prevent her from smashing any of his masculinity. But this time he let her comfort him. “I can’t go through with the plan, I can’t pretend.”

                Jughead’s heart still deflated a little bit at her words. He’d wanted to at least pretend his dreams could come true. That Betty could really find someone like Jughead a worthy match for her. She fit into his life too perfectly. Something had to go wrong at some point.

                “Uh, yeah. Yeah, that’s cool.” Jughead sniffled, moving away from Betty’s hands and leaning back in the chair. He couldn’t act like he wasn’t disappointed. He was thoroughly disappointed. “Yeah, we can just go back to how it was.” Jughead didn’t want that to happen at all.

                “I don’t want that either.” Betty spoke slowly, she felt Jughead stiffen at her words. She knew he was going to take it the wrong way. His eyes hardened as he went to say something but never got the chance. Betty pressed a soft kiss to Jughead’s lips in an effort to silence him. She tore herself away from him a second after, thoroughly embarrassed that she had pulled a stunt like that on someone who trusted her. Jughead was silent.

                “I’m so sorry.” Betty rushed out, flying up and gathering her stuff. She needed to get out right now; she couldn’t be around Jughead right now. With that, she ran out. She couldn’t go home and she couldn’t stay with Jughead. The only place she could go was Veronica’s. She felt truly alone in that moment, walk the streets only 5 minutes away from where her heart was laying on the floor.

                “Betty!” She heard her name being called in the distance, not expecting it to be Jellybean who had obviously heard what had happened and ran after Betty. Betty spun around, quickly wiping her face. Once Jelly had approached Betty, she wrapped her arms around the blonde, trying to give her some form of comfort. “Please come back, Jughead’s really sad.” Betty felt saddened by that comment, wanting to go and comfort her friend.

                “How about I walk you home and we’ll see what happens.” Betty tugged Jellybean into her side, walking with her to the house she had just run from. Jelly didn’t let go of Betty until they were stood at the Jones’ front door.

                “Mom, I have Betty.” Jelly opened the door, revealing a sight that truly broke Betty into pieces. She had caused this. Jughead was curled up on the couch with Gladys who looked extremely frustrated. When her eyes landed on Betty, a small smile etched across her face. Jughead’s head snapped up at Jellybean’s words. He stood up immediately.

                “Can you guys give us a minute?” Jughead walked over to Betty, pulling her into the house and shutting the door behind her. She didn’t bother resisting, this conversation had to come one day. She couldn’t run away. Gladys took Jelly’s hand, leading her up the stairs yet again to her room. There was no silence after they’d left.

                “Did you mean it?” Jughead spoke with weary eyes. Betty fidgeted for a minute, wanting to say no but instead she nodded. Lying wouldn’t do anything but make matter worse. “Thank fuck.” Jughead embraced both sides of Betty’s face, swallowing hard. “Betty, you’re the only girl I don’t hate.” Just then, he leaned in and captured her mouth with his own. There was hesitation at first, but when Betty started to kiss back he pressed a little harder. Pulling away, Betty beamed up at Jughead.

                “I don’t hate you too.” She spoke quietly against his lips, feeling drunk on her own emotions. They spoke about a lot that night, how they felt and how they could act on it. Gladys slept in her bed knowing that her son was happily laying downstairs with the girl of his dreams. The only girl he didn’t hate.


End file.
